Unicorn Blood
by Floating feather
Summary: AU 1st year. What if the encounter in the forest in first year went a little different. Firenze didn't make it as soon as he hoped to and our hero changed for it. Now the future is uncertain and Harry's at the center of it.


Unicorn Blood  
  
Disclaimer ~~~~~ you know the drill, its on like every other fic  
  
Chapter 1 A Change  
  
The shadowy figure moved like silk in the clearing of the forbidden forest. If possible the darkness of the night was made ten fold by the evil that radiated off the cloaked being. Its body draped over the dead form of the unicorn that had once radiated light in the darkness. Now its light was forever smothered in shadow.  
  
Harry watched the twisted scene with a growing sense of terror in his heart. This wicked beast had killed a creature of the purest blood. Having not grown up in the wizarding world he knew very little of unicorns, but anyone could tell they were beings of the purest light.  
  
The creature sensed something was watching it and looked up from the corpse. Silver blood seeped down the black robes in strange rivulets. Even the blood held an inherent goodness and beauty.  
  
Harry froze now, thoughts of his friends and Hagrid disappearing from his mind. Death would soon be upon him, but he couldn't help but only think of the great sadness that welled inside of him at the loss of such a marvelous creature.  
  
The cursed creature moved over the ground with an inhuman grace. Almost like it never truly touched the ground. It held a wraith like quality that was amazing even if it was horrifying. Smoothly it covered the distance between it and its new prey.  
  
Harry didn't want to move, even though the beast was closing in upon him. If anything he wanted to move forward and be closer to the unicorn. Still his natural sense of preservation kicked in and he steeped back only to trip over a tree root that snaked its way through the forest clearing.  
  
The creature closed on the boy and drew itself within a foot from his face. Human hands sprung forth from the cloak like lunging snakes for the boys' neck. Time seemed to slow down as the beast, no mans, hands reached him.  
  
In an instant the smell of burning flesh filled the clearing and the creature leapt back in pain. It seemed to study the frightened boy carefully for a second before backing up.  
  
Harry was amazed and confused over what just saved his life. Now the creature had backed away from him and seamed to be determining what to do.  
  
For an instant Harry believed himself safe, he believed the worst was over and this beast would leave him be. A crackle of branches in the distance alerted him to coming aid. The creature sensed it as well. Once more it moved to quickly for Harry to defend.  
  
A blade dipped in some silver liquid which Harry recognized as the unicorns blood flew from the creature and struck him in the heart. Satisfied that its work would soon come to fruition it retreated into the forest.  
  
Harry lay in immense pain, but he wasn't dead. He would come to learn that the blood on the dagger was sparing his life, but it would not last long. Still he couldn't bring himself to cry for help. He pulled himself off the ground; the one thought on his mind was the fallen unicorn. Slowly he crossed to the unicorn, almost reverently.  
  
He fell at the creatures' side his face resting against its flank. Lying against the creature he could hear it, but just barely. A faint echo of a heartbeat was still present in the dieing creature. Harry choked back a sob, but couldn't stop the tears from falling.  
  
He didn't know why he cried, other than the fact that this most beautiful animal was slowly dieing in pain. His tears splashed against the unicorn, mingling with the creatures spilled blood.  
  
The pain in his chest grew and he somehow knew his time was short as well. He would pass on here next to this beautiful beast. Harry curled up next to the animal and pulled the dagger free from his chest. Instantly blood began seeping from the wound.  
  
The sound of branches cracking alerted him to a new presence, but he was too weak at this point to acknowledge it. He knew that if he drank the unicorns' blood he would live, but he couldn't bring himself to that, never would he do that. Slowly his eyes grew heavy and he closed them and embraced the slumber that he would soon not wake up from.  
  
Still, as he slept another creature moved into the clearing. Its snow white body reflected the light of the moon as it took in what lay before it. It moved closer to its fallen mate and inspected the mortal wound. No anger could consume this creature, but a profound sadness was still present. For a second it mentally connected with its mate. In that second they shared final exchanges of love for each other. The mare sensed its mates pain ease, its grip on life slide. In this exchange it also felt the presence of another sadness the fallen unicorn held.  
  
Drawing back a bit it found the small child that lay dieing at its mates side. The small creature had suffered a fatal wound, from its mate the female unicorn could tell that it only yet survived by chance. By chance some of the unicorns' blood had entered the wound. Enough that perhaps, if help came, it would survive, but it would lead a cursed life.  
  
That shared thought made the dieing male thrash in pain. The female felt its partner's distress and sent soothing feelings back. It would not let its partner's death be consumed in sadness.  
  
The mare approached the boy and leaned its head in close. Probing the boys feelings the way only a unicorn could, if a unicorn could smile it would. The boy only gave sadness for its friends, nothing for itself. Perhaps it would do?  
  
Slowly the creature used her horn to cut her flesh. Her own silvery blood was drawn to the surface and welled in the wound. It seemed to magically drip down its coat and fall to the boys face, to his mouth.  
  
Now while blood forcefully taken would cause a cursed life, no one knows what willingly given blood would do. Mostly because no one has ever been willingly given blood, at least none that the wizarding world are aware of.  
  
The boys' body seemed to glow for a moment before the changes began. It was like watching a ripple start at his feet and move upwards to cover him. His skin paled till it turned white as snow. This was a color unlike that of someone who lived in the dark or an albino. No he was a moonlight white that held a glow in of it self. The wound on his heart closed and a star patterned in gold appeared on the now unmarked flesh. His hair grew and pooled around his fallen body. Long rivulets of black that would hang to his mid back draped the ground around him. It was soft as a flower petal and shined reflectively in the nights light. Most noticeable was the small golden horn that grew from his forehead, just above his scar. It was a good 6 inches now, and would one day grow to be much longer, but it wasn't what you would call unnoticeable.  
  
Another rustle drew the creatures' attention away from the boy. With one last mental goodbye it left its contented mate to die and rushed into the forest. Neither were worried about the child, for there weren't many who would harm a unicorn, even one that was part human.  
  
Firenze leaped into the clearing prepared to do battle. He would change the fate of the world no matter what the stars implied, but he was unprepared to see what was in the clearing.  
  
Harry opened his eyes, surprised to not be dead. The damp smell of the forest rushed around him, and the memories of what happened returned. Slowly he pushed himself up off the ground. Immediately he was aware that something was wrong. He felt strange altogether. It was like finding a whole new sense that he couldn't ever imagine being without. The forest seemed to be alive with magic and he could feel and to a extent see it all. Even the night's darkness seemed to have receded into the background, but where was the source of this light.  
  
Firenze watched as the strange creature seemed to avidly search around for something. Quickly he backed up to observe this strange finding from the cover of the forest. All thoughts thee stars and the future driven from his mind.  
  
Harry turned left and right but wherever he looked he couldn't find this source of light. He brought his hand to his mouth so he could holler for help, but he was speechless at what he saw.  
  
Now Harry would be the first to tell you he wasn't exactly the tannest person in the world. He lived in a cupboard for most of his life, but he never was this white, not to mention the small fact that he was like some strange version of a glow worm.  
  
The shock caused Harry to fall over and bump into something lying on the ground. Harry turned to see he had landed against the unicorn. Immediately he remembered the poor creature, and before he knew it he was hugging it once more.  
  
That is until he caught his reflection in the pool of the creature's blood, or more like he caught the gold reflection of his horn. Instantly Harry was off the ground and yanking at the large protrusion from his head. He took the horn in both hands and attempted to pull, unfortunately the laws of physics where against him and he only succeeded in pulling his whole body with it.  
  
Firenze watched almost amused as the creature attempted to pull a very sturdy horn off its forehead. The stars hadn't said anything about this.  
  
Harry would have continued his quest to remove the horn if it weren't for the fact that his senses were coming into much clearer focus. With this focus brought the realization that there was something else very close by.  
  
Firenze watched as the boy spun around and looked directly at where he was standing. The creature probably couldn't see him, but he could most definitely feel him quite clearly. This portrayed quite well that the creature was powerfully magical. Centaurs weren't the easiest of creatures to spot, magically or physically.  
  
So he stepped forth into the clearing and by doing so got a better look at the small creature. Actually he got a very good look at the creature, or at least the scar on its forehead. While some might say centaurs are only concerned with the stars, none would go as far as calling them stupid in other things. Instantly the centaur came to a conclusion that both explained the situation and confused the hell out of him. This is quite a feat, because it's not easy to confuse the hell out of a centaur.  
  
"Harry Potter, the forest is not safe at night, especially for you." Firenze felt completely strange ignoring the fact that the human child was anything but human, still it isn't very nice openly pointing out other creatures differences. He was a Centaur after all; he wasn't exactly the most human looking creature. If there was one thing a centaur dislikes it's being treated the way humans treat other creatures.  
  
A pang of worry struck the Centaur, what would humans do with this strange creature in front of him. This was not for him to decide, but perhaps the elders might know. Their may be rules against bringing humans to the village, but Harry was not a human anymore.  
  
"Who are you?" The boy seemed calm, completely serene, defiantly not what the centaur had expected from the not quite human child. Firenze glanced at the stars to gain guidance, only to be shocked again. Centaurs look at the stars differently than humans, to them they spell out one set future, but now they seemed to dance through the sky. It was like all the stars were swirling around in a bowl and refused to stay still long enough to get one picture. Instead he saw hundreds of possible meanings.  
  
"Mars was bright tonight, now I cannot find it at all." The centaur spoke to itself, but it spoke out loud.  
  
Harry was enraptured by this new creature, it had a mysterious feel to it and he seemed to feel the creature never lived in the moment; it was always wandering through the future. He felt that if it didn't have a body it would be dispersed throughout time itself to exist at everywhere and when for only a moment. There was also a confusion there, but it was more in the present, so unlike the creatures sure paths. Harry turned to the sky to look for what the creature saw.  
  
"No, there it is, it's still on the horizon, just distant. Perhaps tomorrow or the night after." He to became enraptured in the dance of the night sky. He could feel the meaning there, almost like a tickling in his mind. If he focused harder he might see something but it gave him a headache, so he settled to watch the dance.  
  
Firenze however turned to look at the child. The child's horn pointed upwards and his eyes seemed to reflect all they saw. It was like watching the stars through a mirror. Those eyes had a light of their own, or a borrowed light form the stars, he wasn't sure which. Either way the brilliant emeralds played host to the skies.  
  
"Do you know what is in the forest tonight?" Firenze drew the boys gaze only to see him self reflected in those eyes.  
  
"I'd imagine many things roam the forest at night. Do you mean something specific?" The boy smiled and cocked his head to the side. Almost like he was listening to something only he could hear. In fact he was listening to the magic in the forest but he wouldn't know that.  
  
"Do you know the evil that is in the castle?" That was something that caught the boys' attention. That was closer to his home. The Centaur continued before Harry could speak.  
  
"That same creature was in the forest tonight, it came to drink the blood of the unicorn. Those who drink the blood of the unicorn will be saved no matter what injury they may have. Still, they will lead a cursed life, a half life." At the mention of the unicorn Harry felt a kinship that he hadn't felt before.  
  
"Who would want such a life?" The very though physically sickened him.  
  
"Can you think of no one?" Harry thought to himself for a moment before his mind settled on the obvious.  
  
"Voldemort?" The Centaur nodded his head.  
  
"Tell me, do you know what is hidden in the castle at this moment?" Now it was Harry's turn to realize what was happening.  
  
"He's after the Sorcerers' stone!" Firenze nodded once more. Harry looked at the centaur, the thoughts of Voldemort washing away for a moment.  
  
"What happened to me?" Firenze looked at the boy who stared back intently.  
  
"I would imagine you have been given a great gift tonight. One that I do not think was ever given before. I can take you to a place where you can get answers or maybe more questions if you wish." Harry thought for a moment, his friends were probably looking for him, but he needed to know what happened.  
  
"Ok I'll come, but only if you tell me your name?" Firenze smiled; he might get to like this boy creature.  
  
"My name is Firenze, now climb on my back Harry Potter, the night is young and dawn is beyond the horizon!" Firenze lowered himself so the boy could climb aboard and the two speed off into the forest together. Moments later a half giant stumbled into the clearing searching for his charge only to find a dead unicorn and a knife stained in human blood.  
  
There it is, so tell me what you think. I have another idea for a story so if this one sucks ill try something a bit different. I'll only know if you review. 


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